PROGRAM GUIDANCE For UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Version 1.0, May 2015
Copies of this document are available in electronic format on the UTZ Certified website: www.utzcertified.org and the UEBT website: www.uebt.org Please send your comments or suggestions to: teacertification@utzcertified.org or certification@uebt.org Or via regular mail to: UTZ Certified Standard and Certification Department De Ruyterkade 6 bg 1013 AA Amsterdam The Netherlands Or: Union for Ethical BioTrade Same address as above UTZ Certified & Union for Ethical BioTrade 2015 UEBT and UTZ each retain the copyright over their own protocols that are combined in this document. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without full attribution. 2
Contents 1 Introduction... 4 1.1 The Herbal Tea Program in brief... 4 1.2 The Program Guidance Document... 5 1.3 Acronyms... 5 1.4 Glossary... 6 1.5 Scope of this document... 7 1.6 Other relevant documents... 8 1.7 Contacting UTZ Certified or UEBT... 9 1.8 Rights reserved by UTZ Certified and UEBT... 10 2 Herbal Tea Certification Program... 10 2.1 Certification options... 10 2.2 Certification for UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea... 11 2.3 Certification for UTZ Certified Chain of Custody... 12 3 Communications... 13 4 Program costs... 13 3
1 Introduction The Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and UTZ Certified have developed a herbal program for the tea category thus offering the UTZ label for the full tea category. Like rooibos, the UTZ/UEBT Herbal Tea program is an addition to the UTZ Tea Program. UTZ Certified is a program and label for sustainable farming worldwide. UTZ s mission is to create a world where sustainable farming is the norm. Sustainable farming helps farmers, workers, and their families to fulfill their ambitions and contributes to safeguarding the earth s natural resources. A world where sustainable farming is the norm, is a world where farmers implement good agricultural practices and manage their farms profitably with respect for people and planet, industry invests in and rewards sustainable production, and consumers can enjoy and trust the products they buy. Compliance with the strict requirements by UTZ certified farms and businesses is closely monitored by independent third parties. These requirements include Good Agricultural Practices and farming management, safe and healthy working conditions, abolition of child labor and protection of the environment. In order to create credible assurance of sustainable production, UTZ Certified has developed the UTZ Code of Conduct. There are core standards that apply to all products and additional product-specific modules for coffee, cocoa, tea and rooibos, and hazelnuts, as well as chain of custody standards and a thorough certification system. The Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) is a non-profit association that promotes the 'Sourcing with Respect' of ingredients that come from biodiversity and was launched in October 2007. Companies that join UEBT adopt sourcing practices that advance sustainable business growth, local development and biodiversity conservation. Member companies agree to respect the Ethical BioTrade standard throughout its operations and supply chains. To implement this standard, UEBT members set up a biodiversity management system that ensures the standard is integrated in relevant company departments (e.g. R&D, sourcing) and is gradually implemented throughout their natural ingredient portfolio. Members identify priority supply chains for which the Ethical BioTrade Standard is being applied in an accelerated way. Third party auditors periodically verify progress of UEBT members towards meeting their membership commitments. UEBT member companies can seek third party Ethical BioTrade certification of selected supply chains. 1.1 The Herbal Tea Program in brief Compared to tea (Camellia sinensis), the global herbal tea sector is still relatively small in terms of volumes and value and at the same time complex in terms of fragmented supply chains of different products, both cultivated and collected in the wild, from different origins. For these reasons UTZ Certified and the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), both full ISEAL Alliance members, engaged in a partnership. The partnership is based on the recognition by UTZ Certified of the Ethical BioTrade Standard and the UEBT Certification Protocol, where needed supplemented with UTZ requirements regarding good agricultural practices, management issues, assurance, traceability, communication and labeling. The result is an efficient, scalable and cost-effective certification system that is fully recognized by UTZ Certified and is suitable for the herbal tea sector and its particular characteristics. 4
The herbal ingredients that can be certified are all plants and parts of plants (e.g. leaves, fruits, flowers, seeds, bark, roots) used for making herbal and fruit teas (infusions) both from cultivation or wild collection. The geographical scope of the program is global: all origin countries are included. The Herbal Tea program has two scopes of certification: the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea certification and the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody (ChoC) certification. A UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea certification covers all activities in the production, harvest, post-harvest and processing of the certified produce. The UTZ Certified ChoC certificate covers the processing and trading activities in the supply chain up till the labeled final consumer end-product. 1.2 The Program Guidance Document This document explains the structure and process of certification according to the joint program of UEBT and UTZ Certified. It describes the procedures to be followed by the actors in the supply chain in order to obtain and maintain certification against the UEBT Standard in combination with the UTZ Code of Conduct Supplement and/or the UTZ Chain of Custody Standard. The Guidance Document on UEBT/UTZ Certification of Herbal Tea has four parts: 1. INTRODUCTION: contains the generalities of this document, such as why this program and this document, scope, abbreviations and definitions. 2. HERBAL TEA CERTIFICATION PROGRAM: describes the structure of the program and what documents are involved. Explains who must be certified and what steps to take for certification. 3. COMMUNICATIONS: contains the requirements for communications on the UEBT/UTZ Herbal Tea program and the use of the UTZ Certified logo. 4. COST: contains an overview of fees and other costs related to the program. 1.3 Acronyms The following acronyms are used in this document: CB Certification Body ChoC Chain of Custody GIP Good Inside Portal 1 IMS Internal Monitoring System SCA Supply Chain Actor UEBT Union for Ethical BioTrade 1 UTZ Certified s online Certificate Administration and Traceability System, accessible at www.goodinsideportal.org 5
1.4 Glossary Unless indicated otherwise, the terms producer(s), SCA(s) and CB in this document refer to UEBT/UTZ certified producer(s), UTZ certified SCA(s), and UEBT/UTZ Certified approved CB(s). Audit: Systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining and assessing evidence to determine the extent to which the requirements for certification are fulfilled. Auditor: Qualified person who carri.0 es out audits on behalf of and under the responsibility of a CB. According to a sound methodology, auditors collect evidence in order to evaluate how well standards criteria are met. They must be objective, impartial, and competent. Certificate: Document issued by UEBT when a UEBT member complies with the UEBT Certification requirements and UTZ supplement. The certificate is recognized by UTZ and provides a means to request a license in the GIP for the certified member to trade UTZ certified products. Certification Body (CB): Independent, accredited third party company that is approved by both UEBT and UTZ Certified and that conducts audits against the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol, following the rules established in this Certification Protocol. CB Certification Coordinator: Person appointed at the Certification Body (CB) responsible for coordinating the UEBT/UTZ Herbal Tea Certification process. Certificate Holder: The UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder is the entity that is responsible for implementing, complying with and monitoring the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol. It can be a: 1 a producer (or an entity organizing the producers), or 2 a supply chain actor responsible for implementing, complying with and monitoring the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol at the producer level. The Chain of Custody Certificate Holder is a supply chain actor responsible for implementing, complying with and monitoring the requirements of the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Standard. Chain of Custody Standard (ChoC): The UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Standard is a set of administrative and technical rules designed to provide high level of confidence that the UTZ Certified product originates from or relates to an UTZ Certified source. The Chain of Custody documents are product specific. Code of Conduct (Code): The UTZ Certified Code of Conduct is an internationally recognized set of criteria for economic, social and environmentally responsible agricultural production. It is based on the international ILO Conventions and includes the principles of good agricultural practice. There are core standards that apply to all products and additional product-specific modules for coffee, cocoa, tea and rooibos, and hazelnuts. Final buyer: The organization that is the final buyer of the UTZ certified tea. In most cases this is the tea packer. The final buyer needs to be a registered member of UTZ Certified. Good Inside Portal (GIP): The online UTZ traceability system. 6
Herbs: All herbal ingredients used for herbal tea that are certified on the basis of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol. Herbs include: herbs, flowers, dried fruits, roots, sprouts, leafs, bulbs, seeds, bark, buds, twigs, peel, petals. Internal Monitoring System (IMS): System established by the UEBT Member for assessing and monitoring supply chains to ensure that these comply with the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification requirements. License: Permission granted by UTZ Certified to its members to use the Good Inside Portal to record transactions, and manage and store labeling approvals of UTZ products. All transactions of certified products must be recorded by making use of this license. Physical handling: Any activity that includes physical contact with UEBT/UTZ certified product in un-closed units. The ChoC documents provide a list with activities that are considered physical handling for each specific product. Producer: The person or organization who represents the farm and has responsibility for the products sold by the farm. Product Claim: A product claim is any reference made about UTZ Certified or about the sustainable or responsible sourcing of a product or ingredient(s), that to all intents and purposes are based on UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea origin or status, with or without the UTZ Certified logo, which is made on-product or off-product, in relation to the offering or selling of the product. This can be both business-to-business and business-to-consumer. Supply Chain Actor (SCA): An entity that operates within the certified supply chain and is not a producer nor the Certificate Holder. Examples of SCAs are processors (including subcontractors), traders and packers. UEBT member: Full UEBT Trading Member applying for UEBT Certification. Information on the UEBT Membership conditions and application process can be found under www.uebt.org/membership. UTZ member: All producers, groups and SCAs that have successfully registered as UTZ member. UEBT/UTZ certified herbs or herbal tea: Herbs/ herbal tea originating from a UEBT/UTZ certified producer or from a producer who is part of the supply chain of a certified UEBT Member, and who complies with the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol UEBT/UTZ certified product: Product produced by an UEBT/UTZ certified producer and kept physically separated from non-uebt/utz certified products. 1.5 Scope of this document This document applies to the following parties: (Prospective) UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea certificate holders that are responsible for implementing and complying with the requirements and procedures of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol in order to obtain and maintain certification against the UEBT Standard and the UTZ Code of Conduct (Code) Supplement for Herbs; (Prospective) UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Certificate holders that are responsible for implementing and complying with the requirements and procedures of the UTZ Certified 7
Certification Protocol in order to obtain and maintain certification against the UTZ Chain of Custody Standard (ChoC); (Prospective) Certification Bodies (and staff) that audit against the joint UEBT/UTZ Herbal Tea program. The Certification Body needs to ensure that the certification process follows and complies with the UEBT/UTZ Certified Certification Protocol. 1.6 Other relevant documents Additional documents are available on the UTZ Certified website 2 and the UEBT website 3. Joint UEBT/UTZ documents The first two checklists list all requirements needed for certification in the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea program: The UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Field Checklist is based on the UEBT Ethical BioTrade Standard and checklist and the UTZ Certified Code of Conduct Supplement for Herbal Tea. It is a list of all of the control points and questions included for monitoring and evaluation purposes. This document can be used by UEBT/UTZ Certified Certificate holders for their (IMS) monitoring visits to suppliers for the purpose of the UEBT/UTZ certification. It can also be used by external CBs for the field audits. The UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Checklist is based on the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol. The checklist establishes the requirements for the Internal Monitoring System (IMS) of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Certificate holders and its implementation in the selected Supply Chains that are included in the certification. The checklist can be used by CBs for the IMS audits of the certificate holder. The UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol is based on the UEBT Certification Protocol and the UTZ Certification Protocol Supplement for Herbal Tea (version 1.0 2014). The UEBT Certification Protocol establishes the requirements for UEBT Members enabling them to claim that individual ingredients originating from selected supply chains have been sourced in accordance with the UEBT Ethical BioTrade Standard. The UTZ Certification Protocol Supplement for Herbal Tea (version 1.0 2014) provides additional requirements for the certification process of herbs. UTZ Certified documents (Only on the UTZ website). The UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Standard used along with the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Annex for Herbal Tea by all SCAs that wish to obtain Chain of Custody certification for herbal tea 4. 2 https://www.utzcertified.org/en/mediacenter/certification-documents 3 http://www.uebt.org 4 The UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Standard version 1.0 July 2015 and the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Annex for Herbal Tea version 1.0 July 2015 will be valid from July 1 st 2015 and substitute the previous version of the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody (Tea and Rooibos version 2.0 November 2011). SCAs who received an audit that resulted in certification prior to July 1st 2015 which was based on any of the previous versions of the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody documents (Coffee version 5.0 May 2013; Tea and Rooibos version 2.0 November 2011; Cocoa version 3.1 June 2012) do not need to undergo a separate audit for herbal tea. Instead they can sign a Chain of Custody Compliance Declaration for herbal tea. They will then receive a license for the new product. Please contact tea@utzcertified.org if you wish to make use of this option. 8
.It is a set of requirements designed to provide a high level of confidence that UTZ certified products are physically or administratively related to UTZ certified producers / producer groups. The ChoC Standard contains a set of chain-wide administrative and technical requirements ensuring the traceability of UTZ certified products. Certification against the ChoC ensures that the products sold by a certified supply chain actor (SCA) are UTZ certified, and have been traded and handled according to the requirements set forth by UTZ Certified. The UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Annex for Herbal Tea does not include requirements in the form of control points, however it does stipulate some rules and limitations that must be respected in order to obtain Chain of Custody certification. The Labeling and Trademark Policy 5 defines the requirements for the use of the UTZ Certified label both on-pack and off-pack. The Banned Pesticides and Pesticides Watch List (as per 1 July 2015) stipulates the Crop Protection Products that cannot be used or are closely monitored. This list is applicable for all UTZ Certified products, including herbal teas. 1.7 Contacting UTZ Certified or UEBT Member support Members with questions about the herbal tea program can direct their inquiries to: UTZ Certified UEBT : Daniëlle de Man, tea@utzcertified.org : Lisa Seufert, certification@uebt.org CB support CBs with questions, feedback, or communication about UEBT/UTZ Certified Certificate holders (e.g. suspensions, cancelations and non-certification) must be sent in a timely manner (e.g. before the audit is planned) to: UEBT : Lisa Seufert, certification@uebt.org CBs with questions, feedback, or communication about UTZ Certified ChoC Certificate holders (e.g. suspensions, cancelations and non-certification) must be sent to: UTZ Certified : teacertification@utzcertified.org Traceability support (for members and CBs) For assistance in accessing or using the Good Inside Portal traceability system, please contact: UTZ Certified : tea@support.utzcertified.org 5 A new version of the Labeling and Trademark Policy, including the Herbal Tea program, will be valid from July 1 st 2015 and substitutes the previous version (Tea & Rooibos Labeling Policy, June 2014). Before this date please contact the Member Support Team at tea@utzcertified.org for information about the labeling policy. 9
1.8 Rights reserved by UTZ Certified and UEBT UEBT and UTZ Certified reserve the right to: Issue and amend the content and requirements stated in this document. Not allow any (prospective) member or prospective/approved CB from entering/continuing in the UTZ program if they have misused the UEBT and/or UTZ Certified name or in any way participated in fraudulent behavior against the UEBT/ UTZ program and its members. Conduct additional quality control assessments of audits conducted by CBs by: o Requesting further documentation (e.g. UEBT/UTZ Certified checklist signed by the Certifier and auditor, or risk assessment) o Requesting clarification or correction of the reported information o Requesting a field visit o o Conducting a parallel audit, shadow audit, or CB office audit Requesting from the CB the name, CV, and proof of compliance with the requirements described in chapter 3.1 of the auditor Cross-checking the information reported by the CB with external sources, particularly enabling mutual cross-check with other sustainability standard owners 6. Use the reported audit information for performance monitoring, statistical analysis and research, and aggregated reporting. Ask CBs for further information based on the annual and surprise audits reports. Inform the CB about misbehavior or non-conformities by the member. Request a surprise audit of a particular member and/or advice on sample selection for and/or scope of surprise audits. Request revision of the certified volumes and/or certified area if they differ from averages known for the country or region and convincing justification for this is not provided by the CB. Deny a license request or suspend or cancel an active license in case UTZ Certified considers that the member does not comply with the Code, ChoC, or Certification Protocol, or that the audit was not conducted in line with this Certification Protocol. Grant exceptions to the requirements in the Code, ChoC, and/or Certification Protocol to members and/or CBs adversely affected by humanitarian crises, natural disasters or other exceptional circumstances. Withdraw a CB s approval in case a CB does not collaborate on any of the above points. 2 Herbal Tea Certification Program This chapter explains the scope of certification, structure and processes of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Program. Chapter 2.1 explains the certification options and overall structure. Chapter 2.2 deals with the documents and processes to become certified as a UEBT/UTZ Certificate holder. Chapter 2.3 refers to certification as an UTZ ChoC Certificate holder. 2.1 Certification options The UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder can either be: 1. a producer (or an entity organizing the producers), or 2. a supply chain actor responsible for implementing, complying with and monitoring the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol at the producer level. 6 Such cross-checks are done with the sole aim to ensure the credibility of the sector (sustainability certifications) and are performed using utmost discretion. 10
Producer SCA SCA Producer SCA The figures below illustrate both options for the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder. See chapter 2.2 for more details. Option 1. Producer is UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder Grower/collecter of herbs Proccessor/trader/ packer UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder => Must comply with the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Checklist and the Field Checklist UTZ ChoC Certificate Holder => Must comply with the UTZ ChoC requirements Option 2. SCA is UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder Grower/collecter of herbs Proccessor/trader/ packer Proccessor/trader/ packer Certified under the umbrella of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder UTZ ChoC Certificate Holder => Must comply with the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Field Checklist => Must comply with the requirements of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Checklist => Must comply with the UTZ CHoC Requirements 2.2 Certification for UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea For an organization to obtain UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea certification it must be a UEBT member and an UTZ Certified member. UEBT membership is open for all actors in the supply chain (producer/collector organizations, processing companies, traders, manufacturing companies) trading in natural ingredients, provided that they are formally committed to Ethical BioTrade Practices. You can find the UEBT Membership Conditions on the UEBT website. A new UTZ member registers by filling out the registration form that can be found by going to www.goodinsideportal.org. 11
Apply Receive Follow Become Become Comply Comply Receive As a UEBT Member, in order to obtain and maintain the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification, the organization must have an Internal Monitoring System (IMS) in place and comply with the requirements and procedures of the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol. The figure below shows the procedure for producers and SCAs aiming for certification against the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Protocol. UEBT member UTZ member UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification Checklist UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Field Checklist (in production areas) UEBT/UTZ certification 2.3 Certification for UTZ Certified Chain of Custody UTZ Certified ChoC certification is required for SCAs who: 1. have ownership of UTZ certified product, and 2. physically handle the UTZ certified product, and 3. make product claims about UTZ Certified 7. The requirements for the UTZ Certified ChoC certification are described in the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Standard (ChoC) and the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Annex for Herbal Tea (+ checklist) 8. The figure below shows the procedure for SCAs aiming for certification against the UTZ ChoC and wanting to use the UTZ Certified logo. UTZ ChoC requirements UTZ certification UTZ Labeling Policy 7 See chapter 1.4 for the definitions of physical handling and product claims. 8 The UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Standard version 1.0 July 2015 and the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody Annex for Herbal Tea version 1.0 July 2015 are valid from July 1 st 2015 and substitute the previous version of the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody (Tea and Rooibos version 2.0 November 2011). SCAs who received an audit that resulted in certification prior to July 1st 2015 which was based on any of the previous versions of the UTZ Certified Chain of Custody documents (Coffee version 5.0 May 2013; Tea and Rooibos version 2.0 November 2011; Cocoa version 3.1 June 2012) do not need to undergo a separate audit for herbal tea. Instead they can sign a Chain of Custody Compliance Declaration for herbal tea. They will then receive a license for the new product. Please contact tea@utzcertified.org if you wish to make use of this option. 12
For the process of becoming certified against the ChoC and further details, please refer to chapter 2.5 of the UTZ Certification Protocol: Certification Process for Chain of Custody. 3 Communications Any communication on the UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certification, and on UEBT and/or UTZ Certified in relation with this program, must be checked before release with UTZ Certified at tea@utzcertified.org. Communications regarding UEBT, other than on the UTZ/UEBT Certified Herbal Tea Certification mentioned above, should be checked before release with UEBT at info@uebt.org. The UEBT logo is copyrighted material and a registered trademark owned by UEBT. Unauthorized use of this copyright material is prohibited. The UTZ Certified Labeling and Trademark Policy defines the requirements for on-pack labeling and off-pack use of the UTZ trademark, e.g. use of the UTZ trademark on a website, advertisement or corporate report. Labeling includes all references to UTZ certified ingredients, both with and without the logo. The correct wording (text claims) is part of the policy as well as details on the correct logo use (color, positioning, size). The policy can be found on the UTZ Certified website or by contacting the Member Support Team at tea@utzcertified.org. 9 The UTZ Certified logo is copyrighted material and is a registered trademark, owned by the UTZ Certified Foundation. Unauthorized use of this copyrighted material is prohibited and may lead to removal of the CB from the list of approved CBs and/or legal action. UTZ Certified reserves the right to claim damages. 4 Program costs The UEBT/UTZ Certified Herbal Tea Certificate Holder needs to pay the following fees: A UEBT Membership fee that depends on turnover. There is a calculation tool on the UEBT website. A certification fee, which depends on the number of supply chains to be certified and the certification approach. The fee is calculated on a case-by-case basis based on costs incurred. The UTZ ChoC Certificate holder needs to pay the following fee: 9 A new version of the Labeling and Trademark Policy, including the Herbal Tea program, will be valid from July 1 st 2015 and substitutes the previous version (Tea & Rooibos Labeling Policy, June 2014). Before this date please contact the Member Support Team at tea@utzcertified.org for information about the labeling policy. 13
A volume based program fee, which is the same as for the tea program: 22.50 per mt. The volume based fee must be paid by the final buyer of the UTZ Certified herbal tea. In addition to the above there will be annual audit costs charged by the certification bodies. 14